District of Columbia Receives 'Safer Choice Partner of the Year' Award From U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

WASHINGTON —Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized the District of Columbia as a 2015 ‘Safer Choice Partner of the Year’ award winner for its outstanding achievement in the Purchasers and Distributors category.

The District is among 21 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award winners recognized by the EPA for its efforts to encourage the use of Safer Choice labeled products during purchasing decisions, and for demonstrating leadership in sustainable purchasing.

In collaboration with the District Department of the Environment’s Sustainable DC initiative, the Office of Contracting and Procurement created the District’s sustainable purchasing guidelines for procurement stakeholders that reference the Safer Choice label in relevant product categories including cleaning supplies and janitorial services. The guidelines were designed to align with and advance the District’s broader environmental goals.

“The District is proud to be a thought leader and pioneer in the realm of sustainable purchasing,” said DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. “It is an honor to be recognized for our accomplishments as we continue to work towards becoming a more equitable and sustainable city that creates viable pathways to the middle class.”

The EPA developed the Partner of the Year Awards to recognize Safer Choice stakeholders who have furthered the safer chemistry and safer product goals of the Safer Choice program. The 2015 Partner of the Year Award winners represent a wide variety of leadership organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, small- and medium-sized businesses, state governments, and non-governmental organizations, among others, that have demonstrated active and exemplary participation in and promotion of the program. Selection of Partner of the Year Award winners is based on their efforts to increase awareness of the Safer Choice program, Safer Choice products, and the program’s mission to help safeguard human and environmental health through safer chemistry and safer products. More than 2,000 products currently qualify to carry the Safer Choice label.

About the Safer Choice Program

The Safer Choice program, formerly known as the Design for the Environment (DfE) Safer Product Labeling program, was developed in 1997 and draws upon chemical and environmental expertise from across EPA. Safer Choice uses the technical tools and expertise of EPA’s New Chemicals program to evaluate the environmental and human health impacts of every chemical ingredient in a product, allowing only the safest ingredients in labeled products. As a voluntary partnership program, Safer Choice brings all interested parties together to advance sustainability in chemical products. More than 2,000 products currently qualify to carry the Safer Choice label.